Similes Used In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'

One of the strongest connections made is between a black weed, or type of herb, that Roger Chillingworth finds on the graveyard next to the home of Minister Dimmesdale. At the beginning of the story Chillingworth has told Hester that he will seek revenge upon the person that she has committed adultery with. This revenge has caused a change in his demeanor and many of the town’s people have seen this change; therefore, this change is causing them to believe he is the devil or the devil’s helper. After returning from gathering herbs, Minister Dimmesdale asks, “…where, my kind doctor, did you gather those herbs, with such a dark, flabby leaf?” This black weed, with its flabby leaves, establishes the symbol of the change that has happened in Chillingworth. As he seeks revenge on the adulterer he is drawn to a weed that shows the darkness of his intentions. Chillingworth, beginning to suspect Dimmesdale as the adulterer, answers him saying, “They are new to me. I found them growing on a grave, which bore no tombstone, no other memorial of the dead man, save these ugly weeds, that have taken upon themselves to keep him in remembrance.

We find out how much Roger and Hester have in common. They are both holding a deep secret, they are unhappy and they both have a very desirable skill and both live on the outskirts of this Puritan society.

If it is important, it is remembered. If it has any value, it will last far into the future, if not forever. This is why Michelangelo’s David, the Mona Lisa, the automobile, The Beatles, and Pride and Prejudice are all remembered. If it is the first to make an impact, it becomes important. That is when it will affect people in future generations. For example, the Model T is not produced anymore, but is the grandfather of almost every car made today, affecting jobs, businesses, people, and the world. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is taught today because it was one of the first important American written novels that contained obvious symbolism. Since symbolism is used in everything of literary merit, it is important to see where it started. In the same way, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has lasted through the years and still be prevalent today. This is achieved in the original books and continuing in spin offs and adaptations.

With the measured step and calm collected air of an asylum-physician approaching in the public hall some patient beginning to show indications of a coming paroxysm, Claggart deliberately advanced within short range of Billy, and mesmerically looking him in the eye, briefly recapitulated the accusation. Not at first did Billy take it in. When he did, the rose-tan of his cheek looked struck as by white leprosy. He stood like one impaled and gagged. Meanwhile the accuser's eyes removing not as yet from the blue dilated ones, underwent a phenomenal change, their wonted rich violet color blurring into a muddy purple. Those lights of human intelligence losing human expression, gelidly protruding like the alien eyes of certain uncatalogued creatures of the deep. The first mesmeric glance was one of serpent fascination; the last was as the hungry lurch of the torpedo-fish (70-71).

During the 17th century, a Puritan commonwealth presided over Boston and was known for its strict adherence to religious, moral and social codes. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes rhetorical strategies in order to denounce the Puritan system of beliefs and bring to light the hypocrisy of the Puritan community as he tells the agonizing story of a young woman who was condemned by society.

This sentence has negative and a happy tone at the same time. Bradbury makes the character sound like he 's evil or perhaps has a lot of things to hide, considering that snakes in general slither around and seem to hide

He uses the rhetorical device catachresis, or a hyperbolic metaphor and consonant blends when describing his ancestors to stress his already made emphasis on his views of them. There can be little doubt of Hawthorne's disdain for the stern morality and rigidity of the Puritans, and he imagines his predecessors' disdainful view of him: unsuccessful in their eyes, worthless and disgraceful. "A writer of story books!" But even as he disagrees with his ancestor's viewpoint, he also feels an instinctive connection to them and, more importantly, a "sense of place" in Salem. Their blood remains in his veins, but their intolerance and lack of humanity become the subject of his novel.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne presents the reader with the harsh, life changing conflicts of three Puritan characters during the 17th century. Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Robert Chillingworth must endure their different, yet surprisingly similar struggles as the novel progresses. Despite their similarities, Hawthorne shows these individuals deal with their conflicts differently, and in the end, only one prevails. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s intricately critical diction helps determine his didactic tone; during the course of The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne reveals that happiness can be harnessed through one’s perseverance.

The Puritan era in New England was inundated with an atmosphere of righteousness and judgment. This culture spurned those who strayed from its religious codes. In his novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses multiple symbols to bring a deeper meaning to the society, his characters, and to adultery. One of the motifs used comes as the character Pearl, the daughter of the two adulterers. Pearl has multiple descriptions; physically, she is “a lovely and immortal flower,” yet also “an airy sprite . . . as if she were hovering in the air and might vanish” (80, 83). She has a “wild, desperate, defiant mood” and is often referred to as a “flower,” a “bird,” and an “elf” (82, 80, 98, 87). Hawthorne uses Pearl’s multi-layered personality

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem Massachusetts and died on May 19, 1964 in Plymouth New Hampshire. Mr. Hawthorne was injured when he was young and during that time he became fascinated with literature and writing, eventually he went to college and made friends many of whom are famous classic writers. After graduation he returned home and wrote many of his famous book, The Hollows of the Three Hills, An Old Woman's Tale, My Kinsman, and many more. During this time Hawthorne worked for the Boston Custom House, where he met his first wife. They eventually got married, moved to Massachusetts, and had three children. Due to financial reasons they moved back to Salem and he got a job at the Salem Custom House, soon he was let go due to the election of a new president named Zachary Taylor. During this time he started writing again, this is when he wrote The Scarlet Letter.

In the nineteenth century novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes different origins of allusions and archetypes to emphasize how individuals in order to encourage individuals to forgive sins and work towards redemption.

“Something 's wriggling out of the shadow like a gray snake. Now here 's another and another one and another one. They look like tentacles to me ... I can see the thing 's body now. It 's large, large as a bear. It glistens like wet leather. But that face, it... it ... ladies and gentlemen, it 's indescribable. I can hardly force myself to keep looking at it, it 's so awful. The eyes are black and gleam like a serpent. The mouth is kind of V-shaped with saliva dripping from its rimless lips that seem to quiver and pulsate"(Eidenmuller). During the golden age of radio, many people tuned their radios to the Sunday night Halloween eve radiobroadcast of Orson Welles’ adaptation of the War of the Worlds. As the sun was setting and the moon

A major symbol of the story is the presence of a snake but is sublimely interjected into the whip and

It appears clad in the garments worn in mortal life. . . . Its appearance arouses the terror of

"Near the same tree two more bundles of acute angles sat with their legs drawn up. One, with his chin propped on his knees stared at nothing, in an intolerable and appalling manner... others were scattered about in every pose of contorted collapse, as in some picture of massacre or pestilence."